Friday, April 6, 2018

Now it’s time to say good knight. Tickets for the September 22 concert at Chicago Theatre featuring the recently knighted Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band went on sale today. This time around, he’ll be joined by Steve Lukather; Colin Hay; Gregg Rolie; Graham Gouldman; Warren Ham; and Gregg Bissonette. There’s no doubt Ringo means it when he says “peace and love.” If only enough people would take that message to heart.

Other shows that went on sale today are Jayhawks at Thalia Hall on July 13; New Pornographers at Temperance Beer Company on June 22; Mavis Staples at Canal Shore Golf Club on July 27; and Dar Williams at City Winery Chicago on September 16.

The tribute act Fleetwood Mac Mania has sold out its show tomorrow night the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights. Tapestry: The Carole King Concert Experience comes to the Metropolis on April 24.

Happy Birthday to Allan Clarke, who served as lead vocalist of The Hollies for decades and was one of the major reasons for their distinctive and effervescent sound.

C2E2 - The Chicago Comic and Entertainment EXPO landed at the South Building of McCormick Place today and will stay through Sunday. The annual pop culture event offers high-tech promotions and exhibits, celebrity guests, and loads of people in sci-fi, superhero, ultra villain, monster, and sexy costumes. Rows of vendors offers comics, t-shirts, games, action figures, and all sorts of imaginative memorabilia. Local artists and writers get their shot at selling stuff too.

The Bad Examples will be performing at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn tomorrow night.

Repertory Ballet is presenting Modern Motions today and tomorrow at The Atheanaeum Theatre on Chicago’s north side.

The English Beat, one of the best ska revival bands that sprang up in the UK in early 1980s, will be ranking full stop at City Winery Chicago tonight and tomorrow.

There are still some tickets left for The Best Of Tellin’ Tales Solo - A New Kind Of Spring Benefit, which will be held this Sunday at The Edge Theatre at 5451 N. Broadway.

SummerFest has announced its full schedule. Here are some of the best reasons for traveling up to Milwaukee to see a concert: Cheap Trick; Matthew Sweet; The Posies; Spoon; Gin Blossoms; and Nick Lowe featuring Los Straitjackets.

The Chicago Toy Show returns to the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles on April 22 for the first of its two events there in 2018. In addition to collectibles, action figures, Matchbox cars, and Star Wars treasures, the show also offers a fair amount rock and roll memorabilia. There are vendors offering vintage publications, records, CDs, and even music-related toys. I’ve purchased a car imprinted with the Beatles Revolver album cover, and a semi trailer showing Cheap Trick. Admission The Toy Show is $10, hours are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

September 22 is the day your life will surely change for The The fans in the Chicago area. The band—Matt Johnson, really— will be at The Riviera Theatre on that night. In addition to “This Is The Day Your Life Will Surely Change” and other techno pop gems, The The also gave us the masterpiece “Uncertain Smile” on a 12-inch single.

The 34th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival kicked off yesterday and will run through April 19 at AMC River East 21 at 322 E. Illinois. Over 100 films from Spain, Latin America, Portugal, Canada, and America will be screened.

Factory Theater’s production of Carrie J. Sullivan’s grunge rock play The Next Big Thing runs on Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. through April 21.

Aimee Mann and This Is The Kit will be performing at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on July 30. Indie rockers The Sea And The Cake and Moonrise Nation will perform at the outdoor venue on August 16.

Congratulations to Chicago Tribune jazz critic Howard Reich on 40 years of writing reviews for the paper. Reich listed his top 40 favorite shows in an article this past Wednesday. Among the iconic acts he’s seen, enjoyed, and shared with his readers are Dizzy Gillespie; Cassandra Wilson; Kurt Elling; Dave Brubeck; Miles Davis; and Tony Bennett.

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About This Blog

Broken Hearted Toy is an eclectic celebration of creativity, with over 2,000 posts since 2009.

It's based in Chicago but covers power pop, garage, cutting-edge, and 1960s rock from around the globe; along with occasional bits on art; literature; and theatre.

Top of the hill is a nice place to be at. - - - "Elevated Observations" by The Hollies.

Check out some of my previoius creative endeavors.

Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff was a weekly Internet show created by and starring Jeff Kelley. It mostly consisted of comedy bits and obscure 1960s garage rock set to vintage TV and film clips but also spotlighted entertainment events around Illinois.

My wife Pam and I created a handful of series (each episode was about two minutes long) that were shown on Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. They included Manchester Gallery (see description below); Old Days, which I hosted in the persona of a cranky old man named Fritz Willoughby; Roving Reporter, where I played the clueless title character; What's With Terry?, a performance arts program; and Hanging With The Hollies, a takeoff on Breakfast With The Beatles.

I've also worked with Kelley and Willy Deal on comedy clips, and with Kelley and David Metzger on films for the annual Nightmare on Chicago Street Halloween festival in Elgin.

I'm particularly proud of this 21-episode comedy series Pam and I created for Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. Each installment was a few minutes long, and featured me portraying Terrence, the curator of a pop culture museum.

I was a staff writer for this Chicago-based magazine from 1987 to 2015. The Illinois Entertainer has been covering rock music for over 40 years, and can be found in stores and entertainment venues, as well as in an online edition.

Chicago Art Machine was a web-based publishing company run by Editor-in-Chief, Kathryn Born, and Managing Editor, Robin Dluzen, that included Chicago Art Magazine, Chicago DIY Film,Chicago Performance And Trailers, and TINC. Most of my submissions appeared in Chicago DIY Film and Chicago Performance And Trailers, although I contributed to all the online Chicago Art Machine publications.

I was a writer and performer with this local comedy group from 1989 to 2009. Famous In The Future continues to perform in the Chicago area, and appeared at every one of the Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sinstheatre festivals that were held at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre. Since the closing of the Mary-Arrchie Theatre a few years ago, Famous In The Future has carried on the tradition by presenting Yippie Fest each year in August.

I'm an active member of SCBWI, (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and have written two Middle Grade fantasy novels. I've just finished a YA/paranormal novel, and also wrote a suspense/satiric novel that takes place amidst Chicago's alternative music scene in the mid-1980s.

Broken Hearted Toy

The blog title comes from the line, "I'm the brokenhearted toy you play with" in the song "I Can't Let Go" by The Hollies. One of the great original British Invasion bands, The Hollies continue to have an immense influence on power pop bands to this day, and have finally been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here is a video of "I Can't Let Go" being performed in 1966.